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| February
2007 |
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Thank
you for your outstanding magazine. The Bohemian Aesthetic
is one of the smartest, most engaging and enlightening reads
on the Web. I've made you my home page. You're a breath
of fresh air! |
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-Sophie
L. |
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Montréal,
Québec, Canada |
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I
just discovered your zine...It's just great. So hard to
find anything on the Web that resonates...I try to use my
creativity effectively and responsibly, and often wonder...how
to keep the meaning in art. The articles reinforce the effort,
and it's nice to know that people respect the artistic experience
and all it has to offer. |
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-Carl
G. |
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Perth,
Western Australia |
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You
guys just keep getting better and better. In a world full
of fast food, TBA is five star cuisine. Keep up the
great work! |
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-Jeremy
W. |
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Austin,
Texas USA |
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Thanks
for The Bohemian Aesthetic! |
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-Douglas
E. |
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Beverly
Hills, California USA |
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| March
2007 |
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Thank
you, TBA, for not only providing great information
about great art, but also for bringing attention to important
global issues. You're a class act. |
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-Melissa
K. |
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New
York, New York USA |
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I
did not know about The Bohemian Aesthetic until
recently. My girlfriend told me about you and I am glad
that she did. I am very impressed with your eZine. I especially
enjoy reading Deleted Scenes, Thus Spake Fred,
and Art of Fiction. And, because I am a writer,
I relate very much to Ms. Rafus' column, Write of Passage.
I tell everyone about you and cannot wait until the next
issue! |
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-Kjeld
L. |
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Copenhagen,
Denmark |
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Right
on, guys! It doesn't get better than this! And I'd just
like to add that Brian Parker's Savor column always
leaves me salivating for some great eats and wiping away
tears from laughing so hard at his commentary. I love,
love, love this magazine! |
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-Chris
M. |
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Phoenix,
Arizona USA |
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How
refreshing it is to read your publication! What you have
to offer is intelligent, well-written, thought-provoking,
witty, poignant...I could go on. You've restored my faith
in our ability to invoke change by being the change we
wish to see in the world. Keep up the brilliant work! |
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-Albert
W. |
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London,
England |
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| April
2007 |
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At
various times, during the past two years of reading The
Bohemian Aesthetic, I've been humbled by Stu Chait's
fearless film choices, miffed though intrigued by Jamie
Lee Rake's unapologetic dogma, intimidated by Brian Parker's
palate, moved by Alyssa Loukota's heart, and set straight
by Fred Clark's acuity. Thank you, Patsy Moore et al..
I can't wait to see what's next! |
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-Leigh
C. |
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Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania USA |
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G'day,
TBA! Just wanted to let you know how much we love
you Down Under. |
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-Simon
M. |
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Canberra,
Australia |
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You
are very encouraging to artists, like me, who want to
make art in our own way. Thank you for your magazine. |
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-Gaku
H. |
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Tokyo,
Japan |
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Wow!
Wow! Wow! This is FANTASTIC! And they say there's no intellectual
life on the West Coast... |
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-Cody
F. |
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San
Francisco, California USA |
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| May
2007 |
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| Dear
Mr. Chait, |
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| My
partner and I have taken to basing our film and TV picks
on your [column's] recommendations. You've never steered
us wrong (well...OK...the notable exceptions being Femme
Fatale, Spartan and "The Kingdom"—the only von Trier we haven't been able to get into,
by the way). Anyway, we just wanted to thank you for turning
us on to so many great bits of film and TV. Keep 'em comin'! |
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-Steve
Z . |
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Portland,
Oregon USA |
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| Steve, |
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| Well,
I can't be right all the time, can I? De Palma and
Mamet, unlike so many other filmmakers, are always interesting
to me—even when they fail; I feel that they're, at
least, trying something different. But I can completely
understand how both of those films didn't exactly break
through for you. |
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| Your
dislike of "The Kingdom" is fascinating to me,
though—especially since you're an admitted von Trier
fan. I believe you're the first of your kind! We'll have
to see how The Boss of It All turns out. Do you think
he can handle a straight-out comedy? |
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| I'm
glad to be able to introduce new films and television to
you; that's why I'm here. I like to think of myself as a
bit of a matchmaker: you're looking for something better
than the mundane, everyday stuff, and that writer-director
is looking for someone to watch his/her little-seen work...and
presto!...we have a match. So, I'm happy to oblige
every month, and to have you keep coming back. That's the
real reward. |
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| Cheers! |
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-Stu
Chait |
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TBA
Film/TV Columnist |
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Studio
City, California USA |
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Dear
Jamie Lee Rake, |
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| I
am unsure where else one might go to find Camper van Beethoven,
Garth Brooks, Sufjan Stevens and Lorraine Ellison covered
with an equal degree of knowledgable enthusiasm. I applaud
your eclecticism...or is it schizophrenia? |
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-Hugh
T. |
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Liverpool,
England |
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| Hello,
Hugh! |
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| Thanks
for calling me 'knowledgably enthusiastic'. You've encapsulated
the aim of my music criticism/journalism most succinctly.
And if you enjoy Camper Van Beethoven, Garth Brooks, Sufjan
Stevens and Lorraine Ellison as I do, count yourself as
eclectic and/or schizoid as I am. |
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-Jamie
Lee Rake |
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TBA
Music Columnist |
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Waupun,
Wisconsin USA |
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Love
the new format and features, TBA! You really are
so much cooler than a lot of what passes for interesting
on the Web. |
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-Tiffany
Y. |
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Anaheim,
California USA |
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It
is very affirming to know that there are so many others
in the world trying to express themselves in unique and
unfettered ways. I am inspired every time I read your
e-magazine—which is all the time! |
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-Ze'ev
G. |
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Tel
Aviv, Israel |
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| June
2007 |
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| Mr.
Quinones, |
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| I
always enjoy reading your column. I was especially excited
to see your article
on Inter Ice Age 4, because I am a longtime fan
of Kobo Abé and this astoundingly prescient book
of his, in particular. I like that you gravitate toward
such provocative fare for The Bohemian Aesthetic.
I think you’re spot on with your observation that Abé
is Kafka’s concern with the loss of individual identity
topped off by psychological probing. I don’t, as much,
see eye-to-eye with your statement about Marxism being a
discredited ideology. I quote Terry Eagleton from a 2002
redpepper.org post: |
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Should
the left be gloomy because Marxism has been finally
discredited? No, because it hasn’t. It’s
been resoundingly defeated, but that’s a
different matter. To call it ‘discredited’
is a bit like calling Mozambique discredited because
it was once owned by the Portuguese. If Marxism
has been discredited by the fall of the Soviet
bloc, then why wasn’t it already discredited
in the 1960s and 1970s, when we already knew well
enough what a grotesque travesty of socialism
the Soviet bloc was? Marxist theory hasn’t
been unmasked as intellectually bankrupt; partly
because it didn’t need to be. It’s not
so much out of answers as out of the question.
A whole cultural and political shift has left
it behind as a practical force, but hardly disproved
it as a description of the world. |
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| Nevertheless,
you remain among my favorite online deconstructionists.
Please, please keep up the impressive work. |
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-Rodney
G. |
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New
Haven, Connecticut USA |
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Peter
Quinones, |
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| Thank
you for bringing attention to so many wonderful new writers
of color, like Asali
Solomon. These gifted individuals are so often overlooked
by mainstream critics. |
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-Jeanette
Q-O. |
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Chicago,
Illinois |
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| Hello,
Jeanette! |
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| I
heard Asali read from her book at a reading given by several
authors and immediately approached her about her stories.
She's something else. Thanks for your eMail! |
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-Peter
Quinones |
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TBA
Books Columnist |
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Brooklyn,
New York USA |
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| Dear
Brian Parker, |
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|
After
reading your column for the past several months, I have
only one question: When can I come over for dinner? |
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| Making
great food really is an art. I’m so glad you
Bohemians realize that. Thanks! |
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-Thea
F. |
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Atlanta,
Georgia USA |
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Hi
Thea! |
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| Thank
you so much for writing! You're welcome to come over any
time. Heirloom tomatoes have just started appearing in the
local markets, so don't wait too long. |
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| Summer
is the best season to share a meal with a friend. The whole
process of summer cooking is alive with the energy and surprise
of a constantly changing array of shiny, colorful produce.
What better season to create art? |
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| I
raise a bowl of gazpacho to you and your continued adventure
with food. Thanks for reading! |
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-Brian
Parker |
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TBA
Food Columnist |
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Nashville,
Tennessee USA |
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| August
2007 |
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| Dear
Mr. Chomichuk, |
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| I
LOVE your artwork for The Bohemian Aesthetic. It holds
great emotion. I was wondering about your decision-making
method, as regards the illustration of poetry that is often
very abstract. How do you settle on which parts of the text
to draw? Is it a purely organic process for you? |
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-Raven
N. |
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Seattle,
Washington USA |
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| Raven, |
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To
me, poems are not literal (but can be), are not sequential
(but can be), are not visual (but can be), and are not intended
to fix into a place or time. |
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| The
poet's intent for the poem depends on the reader receiving
that transmission. But a poem (more so than prose, I think)
exists in context with the writer's experiences. When we are
removed from those experiences, by the act of the author translating
them into words that represent what those experiences mean
to them, the reader must replace the meaning/context
with his/her own. And, so, POW! New meaning forms. |
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| What
image should represent the words? I choose the images that
rise up and stay on the surface. |
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-GMB Chomichuk |
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TBA
Staff Artist |
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Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada |
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| January-March 2008 |
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| Shauna
D. of New Haven, Connecticut USA writes: |
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| Dear Bohemian Aesthetic, |
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| Since
I believe that your writers have a firm grasp on the zeitgeist,
I'd like to pose the following to a few of them: |
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Stuart
Chait: |
What,
in your opinion, are the best film and TV show
of the past ten years? |
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| Stuart's
response: |
For
best film, my vote has to go to Dogville.
Few films have the bravery to be that experimental,
and none hit every single beat as perfectly as von
Trier's contrarian masterpiece. |
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For
best television show, my vote goes to the oft-mentioned "Buffy
the Vampire Slayer"—a testament to
the creative and puckish genius of Joss
Whedon. He took a failed
movie heroine and transformed her into one of
pop culture's most endearing and intelligent icons,
and backed her with a show that was a model of invention,
ingenuity, and allegory. Television is rarely so
far ahead of the curve. |
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Jamie
Lee Rake: |
What,
in your opinion, is the best CD of the past ten
years? The best song? |
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| Jamie's
response: |
H'lo,
Shauna! |
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I hesitate to deem any piece of art 'best'—as,
if you read my column you know, my taste is all
over the place, and my appreciation for a song or
album can depend on my mood and/or other factors. |
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But
since you asked... |
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Best
Song: "John
Wayne Gacy, Jr.", by Sufjan
Stevens. It creeps me out, gets me to crying,
resonates wih humankind's fallenness and need for
redemption and how close each of us is to committing
the unspeakable—all in a melody and arrangement
that's gossamer as it is sturdy. Good Lord,
that's a lot to take from one song(!), but Stevens
delivers hauntedly and hauntingly. Second
place may go to Big
& Rich's "Wild
West Show" (possessed of some of the qualities
of the aforementioned Stevens number, really), but
that might be the part of me wanting to relate to
my commercial Country music-listening parents talking
(though Mom's more of a George
Strait fan). |
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Best
CD (or how about Album?): At first take, I'm torn
between The
Knights of the New Crusade's Our God is Alive!
Sorry About Yours! and Miley
Cyrus' Meet Miley Cyrus, because both are pretty flippin'
genius within their own parameters and are sure
to ruffle others—if not your—proverbial
feathers. However, on more measured consideration,
those first couple of Fire
Arcade projects are probably about as awesome
as every other critic and their kinfolk have said.
And if it's something I praised in Rake On Music,
your discretionary A&E dollars have a greater
likelihood of being well spent than not. |
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Reluctant
though I was about answering, here's hoping that
was enlightening, helpful, and/or whatever 'tis
that has you trusting my taking the pulse of the
zeitgeist. Pleasurable listening to you! |
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Peter
Quinones +
Eboni Rafus: |
What
was the best novel you read in the past ten years? |
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| Peter's
response: |
I'm
going to bend the rules of the question a little
and go for the last twenty years. Mao
II, by Don
DeLillo. I don't know of anything else like
it. |
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| Eboni's
response: |
Thank
you for posing this important question; it really
made me think. If you mean to ask which of the novels
that I've read in the past ten years is my favorite, the answer, without a doubt, is Sula by Toni
Morrison. It's my favorite novel of all time,
for reasons too numerous to discuss, here. However,
if you mean to ask which of the novels that have
been published in the past ten years is my
favorite...that's a more difficult question, and
it's helped me realize that I don't read many contemporary novels. I read a lot of contemporary short stories, but not many novels. Frankly,
I think literary novels are becoming a thing of
the past. This hypothesis is also a discussion best
had in a future column, as it leads to another important
question: What's considered literary? For
now, if you're looking for a good book to read that
was published after 1998, I recommend a collection
of short stories, written by ZZ
Packer, entitled, Drinking
Coffee Elsewhere . |
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| Shakila
Maan: |
Who,
in your opinion, is the most exciting artist of
the past ten years? |
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| Shakila's
response: |
For
sure, it’s Banksy who, for me, is the most exciting artist of the
past ten years. He has been deeply influenced by Blek
le Rat (the original stencil artist), a French
graffitist who came to prominence in the late '70s,
but has yet to achieve Blek’s artistic superiority
and vision; however, what sealed the deal for me,
with Banksy, was the painting on the wall of the little girl holding
balloons to escape in the West Bank. Banksy’s
profound, shocking and direct art will remain timeless. |
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For
more information, click HERE. |
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Jim
Newcombe: |
Who,
in your opinion, is the best published poet of
the past ten years? |
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| Jim's
response: |
Of
the poets publishing in recent years, I would have
to say Geoffrey
Hill is the one I would take most seriously—though,
at times, he can be almost impossibly opaque. I
believe he's the richest, the deepest, the most
stylized and most significant. Others I would recommend
are the Michigan undertaker Thomas
Lynch, John
Burnside, and Seamus
Heaney. If the question more specifically means
which poet would I recommend who has been newly discovered in the past decade, I'm afraid
there's no one...but, then, a decade in an art as
old as poetry is a very short space of time. |
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Patsy
Moore: |
Will
there ever be a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
reunion? |
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| Patsy's
response: |
I'm
honored that you would reserve the question of greatest
import for me, Shauna. (insert smile here) |
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Your
query is one that has reverberated through the corridors
of Whedonfandom for a seeming eternity, now. If
you're referring to an onscreen reunion...well...we
can only cast our eyes to the heavens and petition
for just such a thing. If, however, you're referring
to a live reunion, you need look no further
than March
20, in Hollywood, California. Even as I type
this, I'm awaiting word of whether we're to be granted
press access to cover the momentous (and, not surprisingly,
sold-out) event. Keep hope alive. |
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| April-June 2008 |
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Dear TBA editors,
I notice that Patsy Moore offers up an Obama quote on her main site, has praised the much-hyped presidential candidate regularly on her MySpace page and, in your February issue, you featured a piece about him. Should we assume that The Bohemian Aesthetic is officially endorsing the junior senator from Illinois? If so, why not just come out with it? |
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-Jon C.
Salem, Oregon USA |
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| Actually, Jon, while I'm aware that some of the senior editors, here, enthusiastically support Senator Obama (and, yes, that definitely includes Patsy), we haven't ever discussed an official TBA endorsement of him. So, no, you shouldn't assume anything on that front. |
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-Kym Cooper-Rodgers
Senior Copy Editor
Cambridge, England UK/Prague, Czech Republic |
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| August-November 2008 |
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| Thank you for your profile titled "Executions and Democracy". Sam Kerson and Katah have created a beautiful, intelligent and stimulating work of art and consciousness. There are some, I'm sure, who will find portions of its content incendiary to the point of maddening, but the best art always pushes buttons. Great job, TBA! |
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-Caroline E.
Carrboro, North Carolina USA |
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You've GOT to be kidding! Saddam Hussein was included in your list of questionable executions??? The guy was a heartless murderer, and no matter what anyone feels about the war in Iraq, there's no doubt in any reasonable mind that it was his time to go. I realize this absurd line of thought wasn't necessarily a reflection of your editorial position, but how could you allow something so insensitive to be printed in your otherwise fine publication? I'm really disappointed in you and in your guest artist. |
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-Sidney W.
Port Arthur, Texas USA |
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| Saddam Hussein? I found your recent feature on "Executions & Democracy" to be alternately informative and moving, but when it got to the bit about Hussein, it felt provocative for the sake of provocation. I am shocked that Sam Kerson—thoughtful man that he seems to be—could find the death of that monster to be anything but just. I cannot wrap my head or heart around it. |
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-Ruth C.
Columbus, Ohio USA |
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| Response from the artists: |
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I think that our statement on the death penalty was elaborate and clear. Those who found Saddam's murders deplorable must have overlooked the part of our statement that counted the executions in the U.S.; at 10,000, we are talking comparable numbers.
To say nothing of what happened in the Philippines, back in 1899, when Admiral Dewey lowered his big guns on the city of Manila...or the numbers involved in Hiroshima or Nagasaki...or those skyrocketing numbers that have not been counted in the recent invasion of Iraq or Afghanistan.
To us, it seems that Saddam's life might have been spared, since it was proven that he did not have the capability to make WMD. One might want to ask him, for instance, where he got the gases he used on those Kurds?
Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:
The know-how and material for developing chemical weapons were obtained by Saddam's regime from foreign firms. By far, the largest suppliers of precursors for chemical weapons production were in Singapore (4515 tons), the Netherlands (4261 tons), Egypt (2400 tons), India (2343 tons), and West Germany (1027 tons). One Indian company, Exomet Plastics (now part of EPC Industrie Ltd.) sent 2292 tons of precursor chemicals to Iraq. The Kim Al-Khaleej firm, located in Singapore and affiliated to United Arab Emirates, supplied more than 4500 tons of VX, sarin, and mustard gas precursors and production equipment to Iraq.
The provision of chemical precursors from United States companies to Iraq was enabled by a Ronald Reagan administration policy that removed Iraq from the State Department's list State Sponsors of Terrorism. Leaked portions of Iraq's "Full, Final and Complete" disclosure of the sources for its weapons programs shows that thiodiglycol, a substance needed to manufacture mustard gas, was among the chemical precursors provided to Iraq from US companies such as Alcolac International and Phillips. Both companies have since undergone reorganization and Phillips, once a subsidiary of Phillips Petroleum and now part of ConocoPhillips, an American oil and energy company while Alcolac International has since dissolved and reformed as Alcolac Inc..
Surely Saddam was the prime witness of his regime, of his experience. One might spare his life just because he was a great historical source. Or one might spare his life because he, too, was human. Or because a human life has special value, or because killing people is a crime and bad for our Karma—personally and collectively.
As to the second comment, couldn't we find Saddam's death just? Perhaps. It is the killing of Saddam we find unjust—hanging him as we saw, in an act of gang violence, after a show trial, for the world to see. A spectacle execution.
We are against imposing the death penalty on other people, for all of the reasons we described, in detail, in our series of images.
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The complete "Executions and Democracy" exhibit is currently at Albuquerque, New Mexico's [AC]2 Gallery, located at 301 Mountain Road NE, at the intersection of Broadway Boulevard. Regular gallery hours are Thursday - Sunday, 11 am - 3 pm. The show runs 9/6 through 10/5. Call 842-8016 for information or directions, or visit the gallery's Web site.
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